More delusion/203 W. 112th St 3w

listed by Eric Mclendon who has done well selling overpriced townhouses and Soha 118, and does not have the courtesy to return calls.
He teams with Vie Wilson on the Soha 118 /Brownstone listings....great combo
No surprise here.

bb -- thx for pointing out the true sq ft on this apt
The interesting thing is that now many Harlem condos are priced above comparably sized UWS (renovated) apts.
Perhaps, the migration from Harlem to other areas has to happen before Harlem prices correct

No private outdoor space. No full time doorman. Are we fools?

Where does the disconnect originate from- is it the owners, the brokers, both? The day of easy money is over (at least for a long while- history does tend to repeat itself). As a Harlem owner, I would love prices to stay at peak levels- but I never thought it was substainable. Perhaps the owners/brokers are subscribing to the greater fool theory- and that it only takes one person that is willing to overpay. Personally, I don't see it. There is a serious disconnect in prices in Harlem today. Improving neighborhoods and great accessibility to transportation is not enough to justify pricing above that of the Upper West Side. I visited the open house at Hamilton Lofts the other week- I really liked many of the thoughtful details contained within but thought the pricing was still way too high. When I told the broker what I thought was a more appropriate pricing level (450k-ish)- he scoffed and told me that prices will not drop to that level. I guess time will tell.

the fools are there.....
A Columbia Univ Law Professor recently paid $2.575 million for a brownstone on 121st st. Each of the brokers is very happy to tell you that and try to fly that flag.
If you walk by there, work is being done on the facade and perhaps elsewhere.
Columbia gave a $1 million loan is what the NYT story said. Likely this is forgivable. In addition, they are probably giving him 40k/year ~ 500k in downpayment to help purchase this property.
So, did these 2 factors help make this (highest sale in quite some time, on a 17-18 ft property) work for the buyer (no fool he) and yet be an anomaly?
I know a few other people who paid the full asking price in the new Harlem condos because they fell in love with them.....and helped the sellers and the brokers drool.

I did go to this open house today. No comparison with teh 7th and 8th floors at Windows on 123, or even with any of the other properties in this price range in the new condos.

Interior windows. Darkish, even on a bright day. The building may be a bit better than the Normandie (100 W 119th) -- definitely better exterior and location. However, a similarly sized renovated unit on the 6th floor there just sold for $725,000. Asking price was reduced by 35%. Compare past sales in 203 W 112th and Normandie and Normandie prices are comparable or higher psf

Eric Mclendon needs to do his homework

A price cut of around $500K might make this doable.

The smell of dead fish may not be distinguishable to this seller as of yet but, before this home changes hands it's gonna be the Fulton fish market.

Ya never know. There be suckers out there. . .I guess.

I've been following the Harlem market quite closely in the last 10 months. I posted this before but I'll say it again: I think Harlem has been slower to fall, in spite of the predictions that fringe areas fall first and harder, but it will. There are many possible reasons for this, the main one being that the listing price is the amount of the mortgage or equity owners took (just look at Acris.) Most people selling are trying to re-negotiate with the banks, and can't afford selling for 1.3 when they owe 1.7.... Reality will sink at a certain point, though. This prices are unsustainable. Harlem doesn't offer enough good schools or amenities and coming back home after 11 PM is an issue. Last week I heard horrendous screaming at 4:00 AM. Later I learned somebody severely damaged the head of a woman that had parked her car in 118th and Lennox, slamming it with the car door. While this can happen anywhere, and the crime stats show enormous improvement in the area, there is no doubt that Harlem carries more pain and damage than any other area in Manhattan. I still love many things about it, and there is a lot of peace in the cemeteries (I'll rather live in Harlem over Fairfield county anytime.) Still, this factor makes selling in Harlem harder that in any other Manhattan neighborhood. Time will reward the patient.

True, Mimi. The facts are that there has been very little movement in Harlem in the past 9 months or so, especially in properties over 750K. Townhouses sit for years. The big units at the Kalahari haven't moved with the exception of one that was sold for $500k less than the asking price. And inventory is exploding in the area with new developments opening every month, though pretty much unoccupied.